I’m Ash and welcome to Our journey to Parenthood with Pcos. I have started this blog to share my story with others who might be going through the same struggle. I’ll be writing about everything that happens between now and (fingers crossed!!) the day we bring home our little miracle and maybe even beyond that. Who knows! I hope you enjoy!

I started on the 7th of November taking 2 pills a day and amazingly, on the 9th, I started my period.

For the following week and a bit, I had what I thought was Ovulation pains, but never got a positive OPK. Nevertheless, I am pretty sure my body at least tried to Ovulate , for the first time in god knows how long, which is really cool!

On day 19 of my cycle I started my period. My first thought was “Implantation?”. However, It lasted for 7 days :(.

After doing research, I found out that 7 days of Implantation bleeding isn’t unheard of so I sent my husband to buy me pregnancy tests.

On Cycle day 12 ( December 10th) I took a test with FMU and got a VERRRYYY faint second line.
I was ecstatic!!

The next day did the same and got the same second line!!

Yesterday, I went for a blood test and my doctor agreed that it sounded positive and as I have read “A line is a line”.

I have since found out that the First Response Dip and Read are well known for false positives?!?!?

Last week, I had yet another appointment with my GP to try and figure out what is going on.

Like I mentioned in my last post I was put on Progesterone after ending up in the Er due to heavy bleeding and stomach pain.

10 days later, although the bleeding had lightened up a lot, I was still bleeding, so my GP suggested I stop taking it for a week and see what happens.

To my amazement, I finally stopped bleeding within a few days!
However, the stomach/back/rib pain stayed the same and even got a little bit worse. (mostly in the morning and at night.)

Fast forward to last week, ( around two weeks later) I was officially at my wits end.

My GP is also at a loss as to what could be causing all of this if not Endometriosis.
The information I was given at the hospital about my Gynae appointment was not true at all and I am currently looking at about a 12 month wait to get in.

I was put on 14 days worth of antibiotics, in the * hopes* that it is an infection of some sort, most likely PID.

Within the past week, my pain has decreased significantly, which indicates that we finally got something right!

…And now I’m pissed off.

I know that PID is commonly caused by STI’s, which i know for a fact is not true in my circumstance, which only leaves the possibility that it was caused by the HSG i had in February.

That would make sense since I was NOT given antibiotics to take before or after the procedure (which i found strange at the time, but i trusted them because they are suppose to know what they are doing!) and these problems started around 3 months later.

I also had a blood test last week to look for signs of inflammation and infection but I think it’s fair to say it will come back positive.

I have an ultrasound booked for Friday to see if there is anything visible that would tell us more about what is going on.

It has been over a month since my last post and what a strange month it has been!

Believe it or not, I am STILLbleeding and last week it got scary.

I ended up in the hospital because I was bleeding so heavily and in so much pain that I could hardly move without feeling like i was going to faint.

Once again, there wasn’t a lot that the doctors could do but check my hemoglobin (which was 135, completely normal) and write me a script for pain killers and progesterone.

I was told to take 10 mg 3 times a day for a week, 2 x a day for a week and then 1 a day for a week, so far (exactly a week into the meds) I am still bleeding heavier than usual.

Considering I have a pending referral for a Gynaecologist at the same hospital I went to, the doctor had said that I will more than likely be seen before the 3 weeks of progesterone is finished, which is a massive relief.

I have trialed 3 or 4 different pain killers to try and relieve some of this pain but so far none have done more than relieve it enough to let me sleep. If this isn’t endometriosis, (Which we’re still in the dark about) then I have no idea what it could be.

I have been doing some research about different outcomes, and as usual, I have just scared myself. I hate not knowing what could happen.

I will update after having my appointment with the Gynaecologist, which is hopefully sooner rather than later.

Like I mentioned in my last post, I have been bleeding for almost six weeks and the pain is getting worse , so I ended up back at my GP.

While sitting in the waiting room, I started feeling really nauseous and crampy and as I stood up, I felt like I was going to faint. I was taken into the nurses room and had my blood pressure checked, which ended up being fine, so I have no idea what caused that.

A few minutes later my GP took me into her room and told me to lay on the table ,she felt my stomach and it was so painful I was literally seeing stars.

Her first diagnosis was an infected uterus so I was put onto strong pain killers and strong antibiotics (which made me really sick) and booked in for an ultrasound.

Two days later I went in for an ultrasound. The technician specializes in gynecology and the first thing she noticed was that my left ovary is glued down, which along with the pain and bleeding, indicates Endometriosis.

My GP agrees with the diagnosis and sent off a referral, so the next step is to get a laparoscopy and find out for sure.

We had to cancel our fertility appointment , which really sucks, but it would be too expensive to get the Endometriosis diagnosis explored through a private clinic.

After spending the first few weeks of July with horrible stomach cramps and back pain, I booked an appointment with my GP.

I knew it was more than likely due to an ovarian cyst but it was a different kind of pain than I was used to so I was nervous and was booked in for an ultrasound.

On the 17th, I went in for my ultrasound and was very surprised to find out I had a total of 40 immature follicles on my ovaries. It was definitely a record for me.

There was nothing I could do but wait it out and keep up with the pain killers.

A week or so after my ultrasound I started spotting and ,three weeks later, it’s still going. Unfortunately, that’s what happens when you only get one period every six months.

One exciting thing that happened at my doctors appointment is that i got a referral to another fertility specialist. We are booked in for our first appointment in the first week of September.

Even though we are on the waiting list for a public fertility specialist, I am not the most patient person, so we decided to see one sooner and get some answers, rather than wait eighteen months and potentially have wasted time.

I am always on the look out for hobbies to keep me occupied, that don’t cost an arm and a leg.
I have had my heart set on candle making for the longest time, but I never had the time (or the money) to go shopping for supplies.

A few weeks ago, I finally convinced my Mum to drive me the 30 minutes to the candle shop since I don’t drive and I spent $40 on all the supplies and equipment i needed. ( Wax, wicks, tea light cups, pour pot etc.) It worked out a lot less than i had expected :D!

The second I got home, i got to work making tea light candles and haven’t really stopped since!

Last weekend, we went back to the store and i got a whole lot more wax, scents and colours. I’m officially addicted!

I have always wanted to start a business selling home made products, ( I love knitting and making cards too) and now it feels like it could actually happen.

Follow me on my journey as I learn ( and sometimes fail) to create candles 🙂

Today, I had an appointment with my GP to talk about the rest of my test results.
Not surprisingly, the results back up the diagnosis of PCOS. ( I forgot to ask for a copy but I do know that my SHBG=17 and my “free testosterone”=10)

I mentioned in my last post that I was going to ask about clomid. She flat out refused as the “ risks are too high” and they could get into a lot of trouble “if something went wrong”.

I then got yet another lecture about weight loss, and instantly broke into tears. I’m sick of hearing it! I know I need to lose weight but its not that easy.

One good thing that came out of today, is that she finally agreed to put me on the waiting list for the public fertility clinic in my state. Its an 18 month wait on average, so not too excited about that.

I have finally found a moonstone! I’m so excited as I’ve been looking for months. Fingers crossed it’s the real deal.